Silver Tears
by SilverFoxes-BlackWolves
Summary: In a jail cell, Kiba and the others meet Silver and Claire: two wolf sisters who have never known anything but hardship. When one of them is killed, how will the other cope? Can the one wolf she seems to like the least break through her shell? [TsumexOC]
1. Claire

Hey everyone! This is my first story, and I'm kinda nervous...lol...I hope you like it! I'd like to ask you to check out my favorite stories and authors and try them out...I feel obligated to helping my fellow authors...lol...Anyways, enough of my rambling. 

Chapter 1: Claire

Tsume jolted awake from his light slumber to lots of yelling. A young girl was thrown into the small cell that he, Toboe, Kiba, and Hige were in.

"Ouch! That hurt, you big meanies!" she complained to the guards, who only mocked and jeered at her.

"You shut up, filthy, wolf-scum!" shouted one of the more serious guards as he slammed the heavy metal gate. "No talking, understand me?" he talked down to her, ignoring the others in the cell. The guard turned and strode away, leaving the young wolf. She stuck her tongue out at him and wiped some blood from her lip.

"Meanies..."she repeated under her breath. She looked up and noticed the other wolves. She looked at them in awe, then regained her composure. "Hi!" she greeted brightly, startling them. They had expected her to cower or something, not be so friendly. "My name's Claire! What's yours?" she asked Toboe, the nearest wolf to her age.

"Uh...Toboe," he answered, slightly taken aback. He brightened up though, and fell to gabbing light-heartedly with the strange young wolf. He introduced Tsume, Kiba, and Hige, and Claire talked about where she was from. Tsume paid little attention to the two pups. He couldn't even tell which was more annoying. Groaning softly--he didn't want the others to hear him complain--he rubbed his temples. He was getting an awful headache.

CRASH!

Everyone froze in place, looking between the metal bars. There was some yelling down the hall of cells and the few other prisoners came to the gates and stared. Four guards were trying to subdue a pretty young woman, who was fighting them with all her might.

"LE-MEE GO!" she roared, and broke one's neck. She bared her teeth, and Tsume saw fangs. She was a wolf. At the sound of the female wolf's yelling, Claire had climbed out from under the lone bunk and looked hard at the struggling young woman.

"SILVER!" she called in delight, distracting the wolf long enough for the guards to over-power her.  
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After being over-powered and knocked unconscious, the female wolf was thrown into the cell. Spitting at her threw the cell bars, several of the soldiers mumbled under their breaths. Claire stood still, like a rock or a statue, in horror. Kneeling down stiffly, she stared at the wolf, her silvery fur matted with the blood of soldiers as well as a little of her own. Her soft, human face was covered in bruises and spit, as well as more blood. Claire's eyes watered up, and tears ran down her dirty cheeks, washing several layers of grime away. Toboe came over slowly, and wrapped his arms around Claire, attempting to comfort her. Hige was just completely shocked, and he could only stare on. Kiba watched, eyes narrowed in hatred at what those damned humans had done to her, she had only been protecting herself, and they nearly beat her to death. Now, Toboe was going to want to take care of these two, and they were going to delay their search for Cheza, who had been taken by other soldiers. He sighed, he couldn't very well deny wolves who needed a decent pack, and theirs was just a bunch of males, not very good for continuing the species. Tsume looked over at Kiba curiously, having heard the sigh. Kiba was still staring off into space, looking through everybody as if they weren't there. Tsume looked back at the unconscious wolf, who Claire and Toboe were busy cleaning.

"It's a good thing that tonight's a full moon, huh?" Toboe asked Claire, trying to make conversation. Tsume glanced around, very bored.

'This is a worthless waste of time...We should've been out of here ages ago...' he grumbled in his head.  
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After about an hour, the full moon rose, silver moonbeams shining through the barred window, and the silver wolf healed slowly, her cuts and bruises disappearing. After about another hour of healing, she slowly stood, her knees shaking. She opened her eyes, revealing a right eye the color of fresh spring grass and a left one the color of a clear summer sky. Claire ran to her, wrapping her arms around the legs of the female, calling, "SILVER! YOU'RE ALRIGHT! OH THANK GOODNESS!"

"Claire!" she cried, getting on her knees and hugging Claire, sobbing into her shoulder. "Thank God you're alright!" she mumbled, and the guys all stood back, giving the two emotional women plenty of space for their reunion.

Hey! I hope that this chapter wasn't too short...review please! Oh, and please don't flame me! Remember that I'm just starting! Also, when Toboe says that he's about 2 or so, he means in human years, not dog/wolf years. Get it? Got it? Good.Anyways...until next time(like next chapter!) TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

-Silver


	2. Silver

Well, well, well! Silver here! I hope everyone likes this story so far! I'm still working on this thing, and I'm writing it as I go along, mostly... Any critisism is appreciated, as long as its not a flame... flames aren't good... 

Review Responses:  
SiriusIsthar: I'm glad you like the story! It is my first story on but not the first story I've ever written...

RiaWolf: I'm writing right now, as you commanded!

cgflower: FINALLY! Someone who isn't yelling at me to rush! SHEESH! (thanks for reviewing btw)

Thanks for reviewing also to: Rae and rinka!

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or any of its characters... I only wish... However! I do own Claire, Silver, and any other original characters that will come into the story! So, NEYAH! --sticks tongue out at copyright people--

On with the story!  
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Chapter 2: Silver

Silver's POV  
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Silver sat up and shook off some of the sleep as she woke up from her slumber after the reunion with Claire. After an introduction to the other wolves, they had fallen asleep quickly due to all the stress. She was immediately surprised to see that all of the other wolves were awake, apart from Claire of course, and were so deep in a conversation that they hadn't even noticed her.

"...I still don't like it..." mumbled the grey wolf, Tsume.

"Tsume, you don't like anything! Sheesh... besides! The older one's kinda cute!" that was obviously Hige. He was so light-hearted it was refreshing to her.

"Yeah Tsume! Lighten up a bit!" the young voice of Toboe cut through the awkward silence that had come after Hige's little comment.

"Shush, Runt. What do you think, Kiba?" Tsume inquired. Startled, Kiba looked up, coming out of his deep thoughts.

"Eh... I guess that they could come with us to Paradise. I mean, the more the better, right? Plus, I'm sure that they would be helpful in trying to get Cheza back from the Nobles," he explained matter-of-factly.

Unable to contain herself, Silver spoke up. "Who's 'Cheza'?" she asked, startling everone into jumping. Except Kiba of course.

Toboe looked around at the guys, almost worried. Tsume shook his head and stared expressionlessly at Silver, his eyes boring into her skull. For a second she stared back, until she was forced to pull her attention towards Kiba, who had spoken to her.

"Cheza is what is going to take us to Paradise."

"What's Paradise?"

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HEY! waves enthusiastically at readers  
Sorry that this took so long, and that its so short... I just had to write something or else I would be murdered slowly and painfully. You should be grateful!

Let's see. Yes, Silver said, "What's Paradise. And yes, she is a wolf. So, why, you ask, does she not know what Paradise is? It's simple.

YOU'LL FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

runs away from rampaging hordes of angry readers voice fading PLEASE REVieeeeeewww!

-Silver


	3. Explanations And Questions

Hey! Chapter 3 is here!

I know what you're all thinking, "OMGWTFBBQ! SILVER FINALLY WROTE! WOW! ITS A MIRACLE!" But, I've been reading a lot lately, and I have nothing really to do, so I'm figuring that it's my obligation to write some time or another, so yeah...

Review Responses:

Black wolf of dreams: Thank you for reviewing, and for your compliments. It's good to know that people appreciate my writing, because my dummy-head friends sure don't...

Riawolf: Thanks for getting me off my lazy ass to write this! This chapter's for you!

Anyways, I should probably get on with the story. Just a quick apology before I write... SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG! I WAS BUSY WITH MY LIFE... and stuff...!!!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain. There. You happy?

Chapter 3: Explanations and Questions

Silver, "What's Paradise?"

They all looked at her as if she was an alien.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT PARADISE IS?!" Toboe yelled, his eyes wide in shock.

Kiba calmly put his hand on the young wolf's human shoulder. "Sit down, Toboe. And don't yell."

"Sorry Kiba..."

The white wolf's control over his pack still had Silver amazed.

Tsume looked at her in a look of bored curiosity, "How can you not know about Paradise? I lived in a city for most of my life too, Hell, Hige and Toboe were born and raised in cities, but we all know what Paradise is. Didn't your pack ever tell you stories?"

Silver looked him straight in the eye, and hers flashed. "I never knew my pack."

Claire awoke to Toboe yelling.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT PARADISE IS?" Why were his eyes so wide? Where was Silver? What was wrong? She started to panic until she realized that Silver sat on the floor in front of the bed with her back to her, and all the others simply stared at her.

Tsume started talking, but Claire didn't pay any attention, she was trying to get comfortable so that she could go back to sleep. Since nothing was wrong, there was no reason to be awake. Life on the street taught her early on that curiosity is a dangerous feeling. Never fall for curiosity. You can get killed. You'll learn what you need to learn when the time comes.

Rolling over, the last words she heard before falling asleep were Silver saying, "I never knew my parents."

Tsume's eyes seemed to be the only ones that didn't soften as the silver wolf told them that. 'You can't miss what you never knew...' he thought solemly, though no sadness that had been in his thoughts was carried over to his expression or his tone. "And you never got a new one?"

He was answered with a scoff, which he really had expected. "Did you?" she shot back. "Toboe told me how you were living with humans..." she spat the last word with such venom in her voice, the youngest of the male wolves whimpered quietly and scooted back quite a bit, to which he recieved a curious glance from the silver shewolf, but nothing more. She didn't care. She hated humans... they'd done all but ruin her life, make it a misery to live. The only reason she didn't just lay down in an alley somewhere and die was because of Claire. That was it. The pup sleeping soundly behind her was her only reason for life.

"Humans aren't all that bad..." Toboe murmered, remembering his granny and how she'd loved him and taken care of him, treating him like he was her child and spending what little money she had to keep him happy. He missed her greatly...

Once again, a scoff came from Silver, and she glared out the bars of the cell they shared. "Oh really? Then why the hell are we in this shit-hole, huh!?" she suddenly snapped viciously, seeming nothing of how she had been before. Sure, she had never been timid, but they were all shocked when she lashed out at poor Toboe like that. Shooting her a hurt look, the pup moved to a far corner of the cell and sulked, but failed in his attempt to guilt-trip Silver into apologizing. She saw no need to apologize, so she wasn't going to because she hurt some pup's feelings. They were overly sensitive anyways.

Ignoring the pouty youngster, she returned her gaze to Kiba, then slid her two-toned eyes over to Tsume breifly to engage in another silent staring contest. Her attention found its way back to Kiba, however, when he spoke again.

"Paradise... is where we're going..." he said softly, beginning an explanation of Paradise, which, surprisingly enough, Silver paid close attention to.

Not much, I know. But deal! Writer's block's a bitch. As are distractions, which often seem to come calling... OOooooOOOooooOOOooooohh... YAOI:squees and bounces away:

Muse:sigh: See what she means...? 


	4. Stricken

_Chapter 4! Hooray:dancedance:_

_Muse: Can you believe it? This is what grounding gets you people. Silver should start getting in trouble more often!_

…_No, because then I can't put it on genius. :scoff:_

_Muse: Whatever…_

_This chapter is going to show you why this story is a tragedy…_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain or any of its characters. Yadda yadda…**_ Chapter 4: Stricken 

Silver leaned against a wall and stared up at the ceiling above her. She released an almost silent sigh, but made sure her attention remained on the ceiling. She and Tsume had been arguing again, and she wasn't going to waste her time even looking at him. Stupid ass… He could fall over and die for all she cared.

Or so she told herself.

Claire scooted over near her, finding herself momentarily bored with Toboe, who was harassing Tsume to tell him how he'd gotten his scar and only receiving growls and smacks in return. The girl pup sat herself next to the silvery-coated shewolf and gazed up at her beautiful eyes with adoration. She'd always been jealous of Silver's eyes… her coat too. They were so pretty compared to her own dull brown fur and eyes. She leaned her head on the cot and gnawed a little at the blanket boredly, attention fixed on her idol and wondering why she wouldn't look down from the ugly stone ceiling. Her eyes gazed up at it, trying to find any interesting things that might hold her attention, but she found none and she resumed staring at Silver.

"Come on, Tsume!" Toboe whined, nudging at the gray-furred, grumpy male wolf whom he so idolized. The bangles on his small, brown paw jingled a little bit.

"For the last damned time, Toboe, no!" Tsume snapped back in annoyance. He glared darkly at Toboe, who cowered away finally and then shot a single, brief glance at Silver, who refused to look down from the ceiling. Snorting quietly in disdain, he looked over at Hige, who was now on the receiving end of Toboe's harassment. Though it seemed Hige had more patience with the runt.

"You need to ease up a little, Tsume…" Kiba commented- quietly, as always. Tsume only rolled his eyes a little bit and stared between the cell bars, more bored than ever. He was just about to say something when a group of humans approached the cell.

"Alright, scum," hissed one of the men as he bent low over the cellmates, "you little worthless things are being transferred out of here. Get your shit together so we can get on our way." He seemed completely unfazed by the glares he earned through that comment as he straightened up. The wolves lined up along the bars of the cell as it was opened, then were led out of the small prison along with a few other wolves, surrounded by soldiers. Most of the others were older; near dead it seemed. Except for a single black wolf. She eyed Silver, Claire, and the guys with mistrust as they walked, and finally removed her malicious black eyes from them altogether when they entered the cold snow.

Claire huddled up to Silver, whimpering about it being really cold. Silver could only comfort her through kind words and her own dwindling body heat as they walked for miles. The soldiers had warm uniforms, and seemed to care none for the shivering forms that they guarded. Toboe and Hige complained quietly, but Silver, Tsume and Kiba were too proud to show any signs of weakness.

Finally, the little caravan slowed down as the soldiers made camp for the night. Tents were set up, fires were started, and guard-duties were assigned. The wolves were left to sleep in the snow in the center of the camp, powdery white cold settling over them in the cold night. They huddled together, uncaring of whether they didn't know eachother or not, in an attempt to keep both warm and alive. Claire whimpered quietly in her restless sleep, earning several glares from the black wolf as she tried to rest, which Silver easily returned.

Despite her exhaustion, Silver barely slept throughout the snowy night. They were woken early by the men, and began their tiring trek all over again.

Several days and nights of those long, cold hikes led up to the final one. There was only to be one more day until they reached their final destination. The wolves were kept in the dark about what was going to happen to them when they got there, and tension was high. One of the men, a pudgy, short man, seemed to be in command of the small group of soldiers, and spent a decent amount of time and energy making sure everyone knew it. He was of a high rank, as Silver heard through conversation between the soldiers, only because his father was rich, and bought him the position. 'Corruption. Typical of humans…' Silver thought with disdain. As they started up on the final stretch of the travel, the man, Rian as he was called, harshly lectured them all, complaining that he had a family he wanted to see, and didn't want to be staring at their ugly mugs for any longer than necessary.

Not that anyone cared.

As they walked, Claire seemed to be in disturbingly good spirits, but Silver had the exact opposite feelings. An ominous aura hung in the air, and she didn't like it one bit. The caravan slowed to a halt as the group stopped for an uncharacteristic break. Rian approached the wolves, and the black wolf took that as an opportunity to attack, leaping forward and attempting to tear out the man's throat. She missed, so ran for it, dashing out into the snow. The soldiers fired shots, but they all missed, shockingly enough. After that, the men were suspicious of the other wolves, believing they'd conspired against them, and beat the hell out of the ones that were still alive. Several of the old-timers had died on the walk, and had been left where they'd dropped to rot in the snow.

Rian himself snatched a rifle from one of his soldiers, stalking towards the nearest wolf. He just happened to approach Claire. Silver dashed forward to guard the child, but was kicked aside by a few other men, and became preoccupied with trying to defend herself from them. "You! You little bitch!" Rian roared at the cowering pup, brandishing the weapon. "You helped that other beast attack me, didn't you?" He raised the butt of the gun and struck her in the face with it, sending her flying. As she cowered in the snow, gripping her face, she suddenly appeared as a human child, confusing the living hell out of Rian. He stopped in mid-swing as she sat up, his eyes widening and his body quivering. "What… the hell….!" He wondered aloud. She looked just like his little daughter.

"Mister… Please don't hurt me…" Claire whimpered, tears streaming from her eyes. Rian was woken up from his stupor by her voice, and he switched the position of the gun in his hands to be fired. His vision blurred and she looked like a wolf again, then a girl, then a wolf, and then a girl. He was losing his mind! Dropping to his knees, he aimed the weapon at Claire, who cried out repeatedly for him to not hurt her. Repeatedly, his vision flashed between viewing her as a child and as a wolf, and finally he let out a cry and pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through Claire's chest, and she screamed in momentary pain as she collapsed in a bloody heap in the snow. Silver's ears flicked upward, and she shot up and tore the throat off of the man in front of her, leaping over him before he could even collapse. She dashed blindly at Rian, tackling him to the snow and biting, tearing, slashing at his face, arms, chest, legs, anywhere she could. Blood covered her fur, the snow… it was everywhere. In the chaos, Kiba and the others let loose as well, succeeding in killing every last soldier, though not without injury. They cautiously approached Silver, who still tore at the bloody, unrecognizable corpse that used to be Rian. Toboe timidly stepped closer to her, reaching out a hand for her shoulder, but quickly pulled it back as she snapped her bloody jaws at him, her eyes wild with hatred and grief. Tears flowed freely and flew everywhere as she resumed the mutilation of Rian's body. Finally, they tore her away from him, throwing her into the snow and pinning her down until she calmed herself.

"The bastard…" she finally sobbed. "He took her away…. My life… he killed her…"

Toboe kneeled near Claire's motionless and lifeless body, licking her cold, bloodless, grimy cheek mournfully. Tears slid down his cheeks and dripped into the snow. He shivered, and curled up next to her, crying quietly. Silver was still pinned down by the guys, but they finally released her as she struggled weakly and told them she had to see her. She nudged Toboe out of the way, and he relinquished his spot to her.

"Claire, sweetie…" Silver choked out, grooming the girl's fur tearfully, "I'm so sorry…. I couldn't do anything…. Damn it, Claire!" She finally broke down, falling over the small wolf's body and sobbing into it as the guys looked on. Tsume finally looked away, down at the snow, and Kiba remained stoic in his expression, though internally his anger was unmatched. Toboe fell down next to Silver and sobbed as well, and Hige crumpled up in the snow, sniffing and struggling to hold back his own tears.

"Damn… why?" Hige asked quietly, gazing up at the shining stars in the sky. "Why? Why'd that asshole have to kill her!"

"There is no answer, Hige," Tsume replied quietly, eyes boring into the snowdrifts in the distance.

"There is no answer…."

_:sobsobsob: I knew this was going to happen, but I'm still so upset!_

_Have you heard the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence? It reminds me so much of how Silver would feel after this… Don't you guys agree? You should check it out and see what you think._

_Muse:sob: See you guys next chapter… ;O;_


	5. Life After Death

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain or any of its characters. Only Silver and Claire are mine so far… Chapter 5: Life after Death 

Silver slumped next to the snowy mound, becoming one herself as the fluffy ice settled on her body. She shivered, but barely noticed. Her body, mind, and soul were numb…. Distantly, she heard voices, male ones, but she paid them no mind… She didn't have the energy or the will to care. Nothing mattered anymore. Claire was gone… All that was left of her was her decomposing body lying under the snow next to her. Finding the energy to move, the mournful wolf sat up and brushed the layers of pure white snow from the pup's body, revealing the bloodstained layer underneath. Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks, cutting through the blood that she hadn't cared to wash off. Tossing a dramatically different gaze to her left, she glared hatefully at the other snowy mound representing the mutilated and unrecognizable corpse that used to be the bastard that took her away. Taking a deep breath, Silver pushed the thoughts from her mind and slumped into the snow again, staring longingly into Claire's dead eyes. She should've closed them, because their emptiness scared her, but she couldn't bear to. To do that would be to admit that she was gone…

"She's not going to be okay, is she Kiba…?" Toboe asked, naïve as only a child can be. The white wolf he addressed glanced down at him- his shocking gold eyes shining with sadness and compassion that was quite odd to the others.

"No, I don't think so, Toboe… Not anytime soon at least…" Kiba sighed and stepped forward, footprints drastically different from the ones his human feet should've left in the snow. He approached Silver's slumped form and set a hand gently on her shoulder. "Silver… I know you're in mourning… but would you like to continue with us to Paradise…?" His voice, though compassionate, was still oddly distant, as if he wasn't entirely there.

Silver started slightly, and turned her once vibrant, now dull, two-toned eyes on him. "Will she… she be there…?" she asked, voice so quiet that they could barely hear her.

"I don't know… but we may never know if we never find out…" a crack of a smile crept onto his face, and he nodded, and Silver nodded in return.

"Okay then…. I'll join you guys…"

A group of several strange looking people entered the city, earning odd looks from the regular inhabitants. First in line was a man with a large scar on his chest, and snow-white hair, clad in black leather. His eyes were almost a shade of gold, and enraptured a few before they were turned upon them. Behind him was a scrawnier man with shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes, a simple jacket and jeans covering his thin form. Behind _him_ was an older teen with short, sandy brown hair, darker blue eyes, and a tan jacket, a sort of collar hanging loosely around his neck. To his right was a small boy, no older than 12, with long-ish brown hair, wide brown gold eyes gazing around him with enrapturement. Farther behind all of them was a woman with hair of a similar shade to the first man's, but with a more silvery sheen. One eye was bright green, the other bright blue, and they stared at everyone with mistrust except for the companions several feet ahead of her. Finally, she picked up her pace, trotting forward ahead of the last two boys, her boots clopping against the pavement of the street, and addressing the second man.

"Kiba, where did you say we were going again?" She kept her eyes ahead of her, even as she spoke, as if she wanted to make sure she wasn't going to run into anybody-- though it would be the problem of the other person if she did.

"We're going to find Cheza," replied the man in a soft tone. "Do you smell that? The scent of Lunar Flowers…?"

The girl paused and lifted her nose to the air, as did the others, and took a short sniff. She looked down at Kiba and nodded. "Yeah, I do…"

"That's Cheza, that's how we'll find her…"

"Okay…" The girl nodded and shrugged, falling back to the two boys and placing herself between them. "Hige, mind explaining something to me…?"

"Sure, Silver! What?" returned the older of the two, turning his head towards her and tilting it to the side in acknowledgement.

"…Everything…?" Silver blinked at him, and he sighed.

"Everything about what? Cheza?" He was replied to with a nod. "Well, she's an incarnation of a lunar flower, made by the Nobles for who knows what. We got a hold of her thanks to Kiba, and now she's gonna show us the way to Paradise. We can't get there without her," his grin was wide, and contagious enough to get a slight smirk out of Silver's perpetually solemn expression.

"What does she look like…?"

At this, the other boy decided to pipe in: "She's beautiful!" He earned a short chuckle from Silver, who reached down and ruffled his hair a little.

"Really, Toboe? Mind going into a little more detail?" He flushed a little, but nodded.

"Well, she's got short pink hair, and big bright red eyes, and she wears a lot of pink, and her skin is pale and soft, and…" he yawned loudly, then shook his head a little to clear his mind when it receded. "Oops…" he mumbled apologetically.

"We should stop for the night," Hige said with a yawn of his own. Silver was about to agree when the final man spoke up.

"I don't think there are any cheap places for us to shack up that won't stink to hell," he said gruffly. "We should keep going. Besides, hanging around this dump won't get us to Cheza any quicker."

Kiba remained silent, though that wasn't anything particularly new from Silver's experience. "Well, Tsume," Silver spoke up, staring at the white-haired man, "what do you suppose we do about these two then?" she pointed to Toboe and Hige, each of which looked as if they could fall asleep on their feet any instant.

"I could carry both of them," the scarred one grunted out quietly, under his breath, and Silver rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"We'll keep going for a little longer…" Kiba finally said, reaching a compromise. Tsume shrugged and gave a quiet, "whatever", and Silver basically did the same. Hige and Toboe merely yawned and nodded.

_Yeah, I know, not terribly interesting…_

_I hope the descriptions in the second part didn't confuse anybody… I just felt like putting those in there. They make it sound cooler, no? w ;;_

_Muse:scoff:_

_:thwap: Whatever. There'll be more sadness and angst and emoininity next chapter, I promise. _


	6. Grief

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or any characters other than Silver and I guess Rian ew, and the memory of Claire, and possibly another character that may appear…. _** Chapter 6: Grief 

Blue and green eyes opened slightly and glanced around the slightly crowded, small, smelly room. They'd managed to scrounge up a little money to pay for a single cramped motel room, if you could even call it that. Kiba seemed uncomfortable and tense, but the others didn't seem to mind so much. Toboe slept as soundly as ever, as did Hige, but Tsume stayed up for quite some time, silently staring at a wall, deep in thought. Finally, he, too, had drifted off, leaving Silver and Kiba alone in their wakefulness. The white wolf was faced in the other direction, staring at the wall with his deep eyes, lost in his mind. Silver leaned against a wall and stared upward at the ceiling, drifting into memories…

The black wolf saw an opportunity, leaping forward at Rian and snapping her jaws at his throat. When she missed, she leapt away, avoiding every last gunshot from the soldiers around them and disappearing into the cold, snowy night…

It had all been that _bitch's_ fault. If she hadn't attacked, Claire would still be alive, and Silver wouldn't stay up night after night crying and wishing she were still here. No matter how the others thought she was, she wasn't okay. She never would be. Ever.

Eventually, even Kiba drifted off, and Silver was alone again… Always alone, it seemed. For some time, she'd figured that she'd have Claire, and she'd never be alone again after that… But now, even Claire was gone… Even though she stayed with the boys, it wasn't really for their destination of Paradise, but for their company… Even surrounded by her new pack, her only pack, she felt so alone…

Her head tilted backwards, bumping into the wall slightly, but enough to send a short jolt of pain through her. The pain pulled her from her trance, and she choked out a quiet sob, leaning her face forward and hiding it in her hands. She was sure to be quiet; however, because she told herself she didn't want to burden the boys with her problems from moons long passed. She was startled out of her self-pity and grief, however, by a gruff,

"What the hell are you crying about?"

Tsume remained in the same position he'd been in before, on his back with one knee bent, but turned his head in her direction and opened a single eye to gaze at her.

"Nothing," Silver replied shortly, swallowing her tears and hurriedly wiping them from her milky white human cheeks. Her own eyes stared coldly back into his single open one, though his wasn't nearly as harsh as it usually seemed to be.

"You don't need to get all pissy, I just wanted to know…" he told her with a shrug, closing his eye back up and returning his face towards the ceiling.

"Sorry…" her voice softened, and she lowered her eyes to the floor. The tears started to rise again, pooling up and blurring her vision, but she tried her hardest to force them back down.

"Don't worry about it, but seriously, what's your major malfunction?" his face tilted back down towards her, and this time both eyes opened upon her slouched form.

"I was thinking about… Claire… again…" she sniffed deeply.

"Oh…" His own voice softened, and he sat up a little, leaning on an elbow as he watched her with what looked like pity. She didn't want pity, though! … Or did she?

"I miss her…. She was all I had, you know. You guys are so lucky…" she added, trailing off.

"Why do you say that?"

"You have each other. No matter how much you want to beat the shit out of each other sometimes, you have someone else to keep you company… Do you know what its like to be alone, Tsume? Totally, utterly, completely alone…?"

Tsume lay down and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Finally, after a long pause, he practically whispered, "Yes…"

Silver had let her eyes rest on the floor while she had been speaking, but they were immediately on him as he had spoken. "Really…? Without anyone, whatsoever?"

"Yes…" he said again, still staring at the ceiling.

"Have you ever felt alone, yet surrounded by others…?"

"Yes."

_Okay, so the next chapter is going to have spoilers about Tsume's past._

_And they may not be entirely accurate._

_Remember that I haven't watched the episode where he tells Toboe in over a year._

_I know, there's Youtube and stuff, but…. I'm too lazy._

_I may just get my lazy ass around to looking it up on Youtube or something, but don't expect it, 'kays?_

_Muse:eyeroll:_


End file.
